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DEE AND APOSTROFEE

Name: DEE AND APOSTROFEE
Author: Judith Henderson
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0326-5

by Judith Henderson ; illustrated by Ohara Hale ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 5, 2021

Just don’t.

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How will there be peace when Apostrofee keeps eating letters in words and replacing them with himself?

Dee, an anthropomorphic letter D with stick arms, googly eyes, expressive eyebrows, and a mouth (like all the letters of the alphabet in this book), thinks the best words start with her, like delish. So she’s not amused when Apostrofee, similarly anthropomorphized but toothy—for chomping unneeded letters—moves in and makes the word d’lish. Many of the letters get upset about their kind being eaten, especially the O’s (according to Apostrofee, they taste like “little air donuts,” though they do give him gas). At this point, the narrative turns instructive, with an outright (if not especially well-organized) lesson in contractions interrupted by a single spread about ownership. When Apostrofee punctuates his refusal to play nice with the letters with a flurry of O-eating, it results in such a bad case of gas he floats away. The other letters bemoan his fate until Dee finds a solution. The book ends abruptly with a shared dinner of alphabet soup, the letters now suddenly accepting of Apostrofee’s ways. Hale’s letters are cute, and the book design makes it evident that each prefers words that start with themselves. While the text makes it clear how they are formed, though, the word contraction is never used, and many of the shortened words aren’t actually used IRL: d’lighted, d’vour, d’plorable. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Just don’t. (Informational picture book. 5-10)

Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5253-0326-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
I AM MY NAME
by Na'kuset & Judith Henderson ; illustrated by Onedove

- BOOK REVIEW
WILLA AND WADE AND THE WAY-UP-THERE
by Judith Henderson ; illustrated by Sara Sarhangpour

- BOOK REVIEW
LOVE IS IN THE BEAR
by Judith Henderson ; illustrated by Nahid Kazemi

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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NOTHING EVER HAPPENS ON A GRAY DAY

by Grant Snider ; illustrated by Grant Snider ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2023

Quietly contemplative and thoroughly lovely.

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A child finds adventure and a change of perspective on a dreary day.

Clouds cover everything in a palette of unending gray, creating a sense of ennui and gloom. A child stands alone, head down, feeling as gray as the day, and decides to ride through town on an old bike. Pops of color throughout the grayscale illustrations go unnoticed—there are yellow leaves scattered about, and the parking lot is filled with bright yellow buses, but this child, who has skin the grayish white of the page, sees only the empty playground, creaky swings, a sad merry-go-round, and lonely seesaws. But look—there’s a narrow winding path just beyond the fence, something to explore. There are things to be noticed, leaves to be crunched, and discoveries to be made. Imagination takes over, along with senses of wonderment and calm, as the child watches a large blue bird fly over the area. The ride home is quite different, joyful and filled with color previously ignored, reaffirming the change in the rider’s outlook. The descriptive, spare text filled with imagery and onomatopoeia is well aligned with well-rendered art highlighting all the colors that brighten the not-so-gray day and allowing readers to see what the protagonist struggles to understand, that “anything can happen…on a gray day.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Quietly contemplative and thoroughly lovely. (Picture book. 5-9)